7th -20th August

Willow Warbler (c) Bark

The weather has continued to cool a little from July’s highs but at times it has been quite humid and uncomfortable. There has been some rain but not really significant amounts, the cut areas on the fields however are looking greener. The moor is quieter now and has settled into a midsummer languor.

Languid Hare (c) JR

Blue Tit (c) Bark

There are very large, busy parties of mixed tits both in the car park field and along the bridleway. They move along the hedgerows, as they feed the birds from the back flying over and ahead of the birds in front, creating a loose rolling action. They seldom stop and communicate with each other using a range of short sharp contact calls that must be universally understood although there are frequently three and occasionally four different species in the flock.

Young Reed Warbler (c) Bark

The Warblers do not seem to have aggregated together yet in the mixed species flocks as they do shortly before migration. They can be found either as lone individuals or as family parties. Whether on their own or in small groups they too keep up a quiet chattering. It is particularly challenging at this time of year to try to differentiate between the “tacks”, “huweets” and “tseeps” coming from the depths of the bushes. Is that a willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff or perhaps even a Redstart? Patience and persistence will usually be rewarded with a brief sighting of the caller, it took us ten minutes at the first screen on Saturday to finally nail down a Willow Warbler!

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By the kissing gate on Saturday we watched a family party of Reed warblers shimmying down the reeds to pick emerging flies from the surface of the water. Their acrobatic skills are remarkable as they balance upside down like Olympic gymnasts. In Long Meadow we found at least four Redstarts but there may well have been more to judge by the birds we heard calling, they were as usual very elusive. A young Spotted Flycatcher was seen briefly along the bridleway towards Noke on Sunday morning.

Distant Redstart (c) Bark

We are getting the impression that seed eaters have had a very productive summer so far. There is a large flock of mostly juvenile Chaffinches by the cattle pens and the seeding thistles near the feeders are attracting large numbers of Goldfinches. Although not often visible Bullfinches can be heard making their rather weak “seeep” calls and they too seem more abundant.

Goldfinch (c) JR

Seven Stock Doves dropped in to drink at the tiny remaining pool on Ashgrave but there have been no sightings in the last week of Turtle Doves and regrettably we have not seen any juvenile birds at all this year.

Reflective Moorhen (c) Tom N-L

The Common Cranes are still around the moor and can often be spotted feeding out on the northern edge of Greenaways. They often emerge onto the shorter grass before disappearing again into the still uncut areas of rank grasses.

Cranes Passing (c) Bark

The number of ducks on the lagoons is slowly starting to rise and they are uniformly drab in their eclipse plumages, it is still possible to sort one species from another but more difficult. There are several Kestrels on and around the reserve at the moment. They seem to disappear in spring and clearly breed elsewhere. Now they are back they are hunting opportunistically and often can be seen hunting from a perch and taking grasshoppers and other large insects as well as their more regular mammalian prey.

Kestrel (c) Derek Lane

Hungry Hornet (c) Bark

Once again Hornets are chewing away at the bark of the stunted ash trees along the bridleway and feeding on the sap that seeps from the wounds. There are splashes of colour across the hedgerows now with Purple Loosestrife flowering and berries and sloes starting to colour up. I was lucky enough to see my first Clouded Yellow butterfly of the year last weekend, when I ventured out to the Pill. They are a really lovely mix of yellows and orange.

Clouded Yellow, Loosestrife and Guelder Rose. (c) Bark